


We Have a Pepper

by SilverMyfanwy



Series: basically peter's school vs the avengers [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Avengers Family, Avengers Tower, Awesome Pepper Potts, Bullying, Crying, Everyone Loves Peter Parker, Except Flash, F/M, Good Peter, High School, Lawyers, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Pepper Potts, who really kinda hates him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-24
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-11-29 11:30:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18222551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverMyfanwy/pseuds/SilverMyfanwy
Summary: Peter was terrified that Flash had decided to sue.Then he remembered that Pepper Potts was his adopted mom and he wasn't so scared anymore.





	We Have a Pepper

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ClosetCase13](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClosetCase13/gifts).



> For ClosetCase13. I hope I've done your idea justice and I hope you like it! My little queer heart is full of nerves and anticipation.  
> Sorry it took so long.  
> I made a vague attempt at finding out how the legal system in NYC works, then gave up and made up my own version, which was far more fun (and easier).  
> Enjoy!

Two weeks after the fight with Flash, Peter walked out of school and found Aunt May waiting for him by the gates.

“What’s going on?” Peter blurted out as soon as he was within earshot.

“We need to go back into school.” May said. Peter noticed that she'd put her nice clothes on and done her hair.

“Why? I haven’t done anything!”

May started to walk in the opposite direction to the one Peter wanted her to go in. “Flash’s father has decided to sue.” she said quietly.

“He _what?”_ Peter’s reaction was so loud some of the other students turned to stare, but he barely noticed. “He can’t sue me! He was the one who started the fight! And why are we going back into school?”

“We’re having a meeting with Flash and his father with the principle.” May said curtly.

Peter gaped at her in shock. “Now?”

“Yes.”

“Isn’t there, like, a process they have to go through first?”

“No.” May carried on walking.

“Have you called a lawyer?” Peter asked.

“I haven’t. I’ll ring Mr Stark later. He offered to get you a lawyer, didn’t he?”

“Yeah.”

May led Peter to reception, where she signed in, and then they went to the principal’s office.

Flash and his father were waiting in the corridor. No one said anything, but Flash smirked at Peter.

The principal came out of her office. “Ms Parker, Mr Thompson, could you come in please. And you two as well.”

They filed into the office. May and Flash’s Dad sat down; Peter and Flash stood behind them.

“I had hoped not to see any of you in here again unless it was good news.” the principle pressed her lips together. “But here we are. Now I have to ask, Mr Thompson, are you sure that you are not willing to engage in mediation with Ms Parker yourself or to have your son and Mr Parker engage in mediation or joint therapy that the school would provide, for free, for as long as is necessary until this dispute can be resolved and neither party no longer wishes to press charges or take this matter to court?”

Mr Thompson nodded without hesitation.” “I made up my mind. We will be taking this matter to court and we will be suing Ms Parker.”

The principle sighed. “Very well. Ms Parker, have you hired an attorney?”

Aunt May shook her head. “I haven’t been able to yet.” she looked at her feet and Flash and his dad followed her gaze to her slightly scuffed thrift store shoes and they both gained gleams in their eyes.

“Ms Parker, I’m going to have to ask you to give your contact information to Mr Thompson so that he can pass it onto his attorney and you can be made aware of the court dates and exactly what you and your nephew are being sued for in writing. If you hire an attorney you will also need to give Mr Thompson their contact information.”

“And do I get Mr Thompson’s contact information?” Aunt May asked.

The principle went slightly red and nodded. “Yes. Of course.”

Contact information was exchanged. There was a stark difference between Mr Thompson’s iPhone X and Aunt May's phone, which Peter had made for her out of half an old Nokia and scraps he’d taken from junkyards.

“We will be suing your nephew for endangerment to human life, provocative behaviour and bodily damage.” Mr Thompson said to Aunt May.

Flash smirked at Peter from where he was stood behind his father and folded his arms.

“To what amount?” May said quietly, hands folded in her lap.

“$35,000.” Mr Thompson said cleanly.

All the blood drained form May’s face. Peter felt the same happening in his own face.

May swallowed, blinked a few times and turned to the principle. “Is that all we need to do?”

“I believe so. I will be in contact with both of you.” the principle got to her feet and showed them out.

As soon as they were out of sight of Flash and his dad, Peter turned to May and gave her a hug. “I’m so sorry.” he whispered.

“You will be if your boss doesn’t agree to pay for a lawyer.” May said grimly. “And even then there's no chance of us being able to pay $35,000 if we lose.”

-

“Parker!” Flash beamed when he saw Peter in the corridor the next day at school.

Peter didn’t need to turn around form his locker to see who was yelling at him. “What do you want?” he snarled.

“I just wanted to tell you how much I’m looking forwards to seeing your mom cry when you put her in $35,000 of debt because we’re going to win this case.”

Peter glared at him. “You don’t know that.”

Flash scoffed. “She can barely afford shoes, there's no way she can get a decent lawyer.”

Peter scowled and pushed past Flash to go to his next class, saying something rather rude as he went. He tried not to let Flash get to him; the last thing he wanted was another fight, but the words had hurt.

They’d hurt a lot.

-

The only sound that could be heard after Peter explained to the residents of the Avengers Tower and his other legal guardians what was going on was Tony setting his spoon down on the side of his plate.

“They’re _suing_ you?”

Peter nodded.

“For $35,000?”

“Did he even go to hospital?” Clint asked.

Peter shook his head.

“Has your aunt got a lawyer?” Tony asked Peter.

“No. She was hoping you might be able to sort that out.” Peter said quietly.

“We’ve got it covered.” Tony promised. "And anything else you need for this. And don’t be embarrassed about the money. It’s part of my job as your legal guardian.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ll take this one.” Pepper said.

“What do you mean?” Tony asked.

“Registered lawyer, remember? And no one messes with my kid.” Pepper said firmly.

Peter hugged her.

“What does his father do?” Natasha asked.

Peter shrugged. “Runs a company, I think.”

Nat and Clint shared a look, then nodded at each other.

“Why do I have a bad feeling about this?” Steve asked them warily.

“Because we’re gong to find out every bad thing Flash’s father has ever done.” Natasha said simply. “And then make him pay for it. You in?”

Steve hesitated, then nodded. “I’m in.”

“Me and Bucky’ll help you with some hand to hand tomorrow.” Sam promised Peter. “In case he goes at you again.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ll ring up Fury and get the loopholes ready in case it looks like Flash’s lawyers might be onto you.” Hill said, already getting to her feet. “If you get in trouble, you get in trouble, but you sure as hell won’t be carted off for experiments.”

“I can’t do much more than offer you a hug.” Bruce said. “And I’ll go and cheer you on at your trial.”

“It’s not a trial.” Pepper said hastily. “A trial would be much worse. And you'll have to be a witness as you examined Peter's injuries.”

“Who is on trial?” Thor boomed as he walked into the room. “I love a good trial. We have very interesting ones on Asgard. We have snakes at the end of them!”

-

“I got a phone call from Flash’s lawyer today.” May said at dinner with Peter some weeks later. “We have a date for the case.”

“When is it?”

“Five weeks.”

-

One week later, May met Pepper for the first time, to discuss the case.

Happy collected them both and as he drove them to the compound, Peter gave May a full briefing on what was going to happen, what would probably happen, what would probably got wrong and what she absolutely should not do.

“And don’t freak out if JARVIS starts talking and don’t ask personal questions and don’t tell them any embarrassing stories about me.” the car pulled up at the compound.

May opened her door and got out. Peter hurried after her, but she still somehow managed to get to the door before him.

The door opened and Pepper came out to greet May.

Peter watched from a distance as they greeted each other and made their introductions.

Sam landed next to him. “You’ve gone very pale.”

“I’m terrified.” Peter admitted.

“Why?”

“Because my mom is meeting my aunt and I think they’re going to get on wonderfully.”

Sam looked at Peter skeptically. “That terrifies you?”

“Think of all the stories they have.” Peter paused. “And Tony hit on May.”

“He what now?” Sam laughed. “Oh this is gonna be fun. Hard luck kid.” he patted Peter on the shoulder and walked away, leaving Peter to go after Pepper and May.

They had their meeting and Peter was less than happy at the end of it, mostly owing to the exchange of embarresing photos of him and the swap of phone numbers.

It was worth it, though, because Pepper put May completely at ease over the case and promised that she and Tony would cover any costs.

-

Peter walked into the compound’s living room and flopped onto the sofa, face first.

“Everything okay?” Clint asked.

Peter was silent.

“Peter? You alive?" Clint called out.

Peter grunted. He felt the sofa sink slightly as Clint sat down next to him. “What’s going on?"

Pause.

“I’m not moving until you tell me what’s wrong and if it takes more than thirty seconds I’ll get Steve to pick you up and turn you over so you have no choice to answer.”

The threat was enough to make Peter turn over and curl up in a ball, knees to chest. “Flash was really bad today.”

“What did he do?” Clint asked quietly.

Peter sniffed and rested his face on his knees.

“Peter?” Clint put an arm around Peter’s shoulders and Peter curled into this side, hiding his face in Clint's shoulder.

“He said some really bad stuff.” Peter whispered. “He said some really, really bad stuff.”

“Tell me. Tell me what he said.”

Peter sniffed. “He said stuff about May, and me and Tony and MJ and Ned and Cap and all of you and he- I couldn’t fight back.” he sobbed. “I couldn’t defend them and I had to walk away and let him win.”

Clint’s face crumpled and he hugged Peter tightly. “Oh kid.”

Peter told him what Flash had said and cried.

A number of minutes later, Peter heard footsteps and looked up shyly over Clint’s shoulder to see who it was.

Nat, with Steve and Bucky behind her, froze when she saw Peter. “Oh lapushka, why are you crying? What’s wrong?”

“Bad day at school.” Peter said quietly.

“We need to get a move on with that investigation.” Clint said darkly.

“Are we allowed to beat up children?” Bucky asked Steve.

“No.”

“What if I pretended to Winter-Soldier?”

“You’d get shot.” Peter said weakly.

“It would be worth it.”

Peter wept and let them hold him.

The words of the adults- angry, upset, calculating and slightly plotting- washed over him.

He feel asleep on the sofa and didn’t wake until Pepper sat next to him and stroked his hair. “I will win for you.” she promised.

“Thank you.”

-

The day of the court case came.

Peter stood nervously outside the courthouse with May, Tony and Pepper. The others were all inside the court already, apart from Clint and Natasha who had left the state the night before to continue their ‘investigation’ and Thor, who was at the tower yelling at a baseball game. They had deemed it best for him to stay behind.

Pepper checked her watch. “We should go in now.”

Peter held May’s hand as they walked in, for both their sakes. One of the court officials walked over to Pepper and said something under his breath. Pepper nodded.

“We need to go to the courtroom now.” she told the others.

Tony kissed her. “Good luck.”

He hugged Peter and then headed off to go and sit with the others.

Pepper guided May and Peter through to the court, and their seats. Sam, Steve, Bucky, Hill, Tony and Happy were already there. Sam smiled encourgingly.

Flash, his father and their slime-ball of a lawyer were opposite Peter and May. Peter tried not to look at them.

 

The judge entered and they all stood up.

“You may be seated.” the judge sat down and hit the gavel. “Let the court session begin. Mr Thompson, you are suing May and Peter Parker for $35,000; correct?”

“Yes sir.”

“For intentional endangerment of human life, provocative behaviour and bodily damage.”

“Yes sir.”

“And this is because of a fight that your son had in school with Mr Parker, correct?”

“Yes sir.”

“Would your lawyer like to take the stand?”

Flash’s lawyer took the stand and launched into an attack on Peter. He used the video from the security footage and called on two of Flash’s goons as witnesses. Finally, he called on Flash as a witness.

“Would you say you are friends with Mr Parker, Mr Thompson?” the lawyer asked.

Flash had the audacity to laugh, which took guts seeing as he had Falcon, Captain America, the Winter Soldier, Iron Man, a SHIELD agent, Aunt May _and_ Pepper Potts glaring at him, or perhaps just sheer stupidity. “I would never, ever, want to be friends with a loser like Penis Parker.”

Peter heard a grunt from behind him and had a feeling that Sam, Hill and Steve were currently faced with the rather tricky situation of trying to stop Tony and Bucky from jumping out of their seats and over the gate to blast a wall down.

“Mr Thompson, I will ask you not to use language like that in a way that is clearly not essential to your testimony and not to call anyone in this room by derogatory names such as that whilst you are in this courtroom, do you understand me?” the judge said angrily.

Flash nodded glumly.

“I said do you understand me?”

“Yes your honour.” Flash said, teeth gritted.

“Please apologise to Mr Parker.”

“Sorry.” Flash spat. He looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel.

The judge looked at Flash’s lawyer. “You may continue.”

Flash’s lawyer continued. Then it was Pepper’s turn.

She stood up with the utmost confidence and began. “I would like to call Michelle Jones to the stand.”

Pepper went through a train of witnesses, laying down Peter’s innocence clearly and without forcing it. Then she used the video.

“The video clearly shows that it was Mr Thompson who started the fight by attacking Mr Parker. The witnesses have also testified that it was Mr Thompson who displayed provocative behaviour and there have been two reports from medical professionals detailing that Mr Thompson suffered no injuries, though Mr Parker did. He has suffered emotional distress and physical harm at the hands of Mr Thompson in this attack. Mr Parker is not guilty of any of the things he and Ms Parker are being sued for.” Pepper sat down.

“Is that all, Ms Potts?”

She nodded.

The jury left to make their decision.

Peter stared at Pepper in awe, wondering how he had ever been so lucky as to have her on his side and as his mom. A quick glance over his shoulder showed Peter that Tony was also staring at Pepper in admiration.

When the jury came back and cleared May and Peter of the charges, Peter thought Pepper deserved all the awe, wonder and admiration in the world.

-

Pepper was swarmed by Avengers after the trial.

May was in tears.

Peter was elated.

Tony was beaming with pride.

Bucky and Sam were still slightly disgruntled by Flash’s comments, but both hugged Pepper anyway.

Steve was saying something about justice.

Pepper grabbed Peter’s and and squeezed it. “I told you I’d win for you.”

Peter nodded, nearly crying too, and hugged her tightly. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

-

Flash gave Peter a wide berth at school after that, except for one day when they were the only people in the corridor.

“You deserved to win.” Flash said suddenly. “Whoever your lawyer was. She argued better.”

Peter was so startled that he didn’t know what to say.

“I still hate you, though, and I still should have won.” Flash said. “I thought your mom would end up with a-” he swore, “state lawyer.”

“Actually, my mom was the lawyer.” Peter said smoothly. “My aunt’s the one you’re referring to.”

He turned and walked away, beaming, leaving Flash in stunned silence.

THE END.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is also on Wattpad, posted by Tanisha_Tabassum. She has my permission to do this.


End file.
